SOFIE HYLAND WARD

Photography Student.
city college

Evaluation

For this project I chose to interpret the theme of colour within the Fashion pathway. I have a strong interest in fashion photography therefore I felt this would be the right path to take.

I decided to focus my project more on beauty, which is one of the main contributors to fashion photography. I wanted to ‘decorate’ the face with textures and things you wouldn’t normally wear upon your face such as rose petals and feathers. For my first shoot I decided to stick rose petals onto my models face, this worked well however due to the skin being so highly irritated I had to find something else to use. Skin irritation is a big problem and in some cases you can use the spot healing tool on PhotoShop to erase the imperfections but in this case I felt it was best to move on to other things. I then went on to use lace eyelashes, for this shoot I went for a more natural look as I wanted the lashes to the the most eye catching, there was also no way the skin could be irritated. I used high key lighting for both these shoots, normally I prefer to shoot with low key lighting as I feel it compliments the model in a better way, I wanted to push myself and try new things as it’s important that I am comfortable shooting both high and low key lighting for the future. Changing to low key lighting would mean my photographs wouldn’t fit together in a set how I wanted them to but I felt it would compliment the image in a better way, therefore for my third shoot I shot in low key. I feel that this is the best of all my shoots, I used paint to create shapes on the models face, some of which complimented her face shape. There was some irritation of the skin when taking the paint off to put a different look on, this was easily corrected on PhotoShop with the spot healing tool.

I was hugely inspired by Rankin’s beauty work, he has a mix of over the top make up and natural make up, both look incredible in the way he has photographed them. Another inspiration for this project was Yulia Gorbachenko, I found her online when searching for another photographer to critique. She produced a series of photos which explored paint upon the face, something in which I intended to do. Due to being unsure of what colours and shapes to use I decided to mimic the colours used and create the pattern as my own. I found photographer Ian Crawford the same way, I was inspired by the composition of his shots.

This project has introduced me to new beauty photographers to whom I can carry on looking at throughout my FMP and has given me the confidence to carry on looking for new inspirations. I feel that it is important to have a large number of inspiring photographers rather than just she same few, this stops work being repeated.

If I were to redo this project, I would try and practice my ideas before taking them to the studio, for instance, the models skin didn’t react well to the petals therefore I would have been able to save time and find something new which would enable me to build up more imagery creating the various looks in which I intended. I would also like to have found Yulia Gorbachenko earlier in the project, she was a huge inspiration to me and i feel I could have progressed better with the paint.

Overall I feel that this project has helped me photograph colour in a more interesting way, the use of my constantina sketch book enabled me to place inspirational photographs together therefore it was easier to take parts I wanted from each photo to build my own. In the future I will be using this again.

I am pleased with my final outcomes and will continue to shoot varying from low key to high key as well as interpreting colour into shoots in a more interesting way.

Final Images

These are my four final images. I feel they work well together as they all follow the same composition. 

This is my third shoot. After looking at my previous shoots I decided to use paint to enhance the models face shape. I chose paint because it is easy to apply and there are a wide variety of colours available which meant I was able to change looks during the shoot quickly to see what worked and what didn’t work. I used vibrant colours and colours which I wouldn’t usually use as I wanted to break out of being safe and try to take more risks when shooting. I am pleased with this shoot and I feel that I have some finals from this shoot. I will now be editing them in PhotoShop to enhance certain colours and correct skin tones as the skin was aggetated a lot when putting on and taking off the paint. i will be using the spot healing tool for this.

This is my third shoot. After looking at my previous shoots I decided to use paint to enhance the models face shape. I chose paint because it is easy to apply and there are a wide variety of colours available which meant I was able to change looks during the shoot quickly to see what worked and what didn’t work. I used vibrant colours and colours which I wouldn’t usually use as I wanted to break out of being safe and try to take more risks when shooting. I am pleased with this shoot and I feel that I have some finals from this shoot. I will now be editing them in PhotoShop to enhance certain colours and correct skin tones as the skin was aggetated a lot when putting on and taking off the paint. i will be using the spot healing tool for this.

Rankin Critique

Rankin Critique

This is my second shoot. I decided to photograph my model wearing lace eyelashes, I felt that having something eye catching and different featuring in the photo would bring me to a final idea as I have already experimented with rose petals. The contact sheet above is made from the best photos from the shoot, I feel the lighting worked well however I will be going back to shooting low key as I feel my images will be stronger with a dark background due to my model being pale and having light hair, I want her to stand out. I wanted this shoot to be as natural as possible so when comparing with my previous shoot I could decide whether to go on to experimenting with natural beauty or using my inspiration from Rankin to create unusual looks.

This is my second shoot. I decided to photograph my model wearing lace eyelashes, I felt that having something eye catching and different featuring in the photo would bring me to a final idea as I have already experimented with rose petals. The contact sheet above is made from the best photos from the shoot, I feel the lighting worked well however I will be going back to shooting low key as I feel my images will be stronger with a dark background due to my model being pale and having light hair, I want her to stand out. I wanted this shoot to be as natural as possible so when comparing with my previous shoot I could decide whether to go on to experimenting with natural beauty or using my inspiration from Rankin to create unusual looks.

I ‘perfected’ this photo using Photoshop. The Healing Brush Tool can be recognised particularly on this photo, as the model had quite a few freckles on her face therefore I used this tool to conceal most of them an d hide any blemishes of the skin. I wanted to maintain an accurate skin tone not too far from her natural tone therefore I selected each point close to the point I was correcting. By working on an empty layer, not directly onto the original image, changes could be made if needed. 

I ‘perfected’ this photo using Photoshop. The Healing Brush Tool can be recognised particularly on this photo, as the model had quite a few freckles on her face therefore I used this tool to conceal most of them an d hide any blemishes of the skin. I wanted to maintain an accurate skin tone not too far from her natural tone therefore I selected each point close to the point I was correcting. By working on an empty layer, not directly onto the original image, changes could be made if needed. 

This is my first shoot. Inspired by Rankin, I stuck rose petals to my models face and photographed them at an angle that was to create texture as well as emphasise the colours of each petal. I used high key lighting for this shoot, however I would use low key lighting if I was to reshoot, this is because I feel the petals would stand out better with a black background, I also prefer to shoot in low key. Overall I feel this shoot went well and I will be experimenting with more textures throughout this project.

This is my first shoot. Inspired by Rankin, I stuck rose petals to my models face and photographed them at an angle that was to create texture as well as emphasise the colours of each petal. I used high key lighting for this shoot, however I would use low key lighting if I was to reshoot, this is because I feel the petals would stand out better with a black background, I also prefer to shoot in low key. Overall I feel this shoot went well and I will be experimenting with more textures throughout this project.

Colour Insight- Pathways Project

For this project I have been asked to demonstrate my digital, creative and independent skills as a photographer. I will be responding to the theme of COLOUR. I have been given four different specialist pathways to choose from, consisting of Commercial, Documentary, Fashion and Fine Art, these pathways all cross into eachother, however, I have decided to interpret the theme of colour within the Fashion pathway. I feel that this is the best pathway for me to take and will enable me to work to the best of my ability.

I will be showcasing my digital manipulation skills throughout this project and I will also be exploring these skills within my final outcomes. I aim to produce four A3 final prints and two double page magazine spreads based highly on the Fashion Pathway.

Environmental Portraiture Evaluation

For this project I was given a brief which was to photograph unfamiliar people in contextual locations. This meant i had to photograph people on location therefore challenging my location skills as well as my camera skills. I decided to come at this brief from a different angle, I wanted to create beautiful portraiture made from silhouettes containing environmental spaces.

As I had already gone down the route of photographing strangers within their work environment, I wanted to photograph people I already know but don’t know well enough. This would give me a chance to get to know them better, on another level. I wanted to show the connection between the person and the place, before shooting I asked my model to share some of the places in which are special to her. This would be my first shoot, getting to know the model. I then took a portable flash on location with me to shoot my model, however I did not create the look I wanted as I would need a light diffuser or a reflector to help me. I then went on to shoot in the studio, this meant I was able to gather my ideas/shots together quickly without any problems.

I had trouble expressing my idea to other people therefore this made it harder for me to find out exactly what I had to do to create the image I wanted. I had this idea right from the start of the project, however I was unsure about sharing it therefore I was putting off shooting. I regret this now as I have learnt that in order for an idea to grow I must shoot as soon as I get the brief and then go to my peers for feedback. I feel that had I done this in the first place, I would have achieved more than I have now. I then realised that I was unable to use the studio for this project as it was strictly a location project. This made it harder for me when choosing my final images. I then used Photoshop to help me create similar images to my studio ones, I used my location shoot with my environment shoot and successfully created the photo I wanted. 

I was greatly influenced by Jason Bell as he photographs various people in loads of different ways, the way in which he photographs people so elegantly inspired me to create elegant, delicate photos.

If I was to re-visit this project I would spent more time shooting rather than dwelling on an idea. This will definitely help with my next projects as I have gained the confidence to shoot ideas as soon as they come to me. I would also spend more time on my environmental photos as I feel I could have captured stronger things with a little more time, maybe leaving Brighton. 

I feel I responded well to the brief and that my photos are all very strong, they work well together as well as apart therefore could be a set or presented singularly as they aren’t reliant on eachother. 

Overall I am pleased with my final outcome and will continue to experiment with location shooting in projects to come. I feel more confident shooting on location now I have learnt how to use a portable flash, this will help me create a natural look when there isn’t enough light to do so without it. My skills have developed further and I look forward to developing them in my next project.

Here are my finals for Environmental Portraits